Did you see a really great release photo for a book? Or did you find a clever way to use one of our Supply Store products? If so, send a message with "newsletter" in the subject to us from our Contact form(use the "feedback" option), and we'll try to feature your find in a future edition.

For example, here's Newk's picturesque release of Unbelievable at Coffin Bay, South Australia. The book was caught by an Anonymous Finder.

Your Wish is Our Command; More on Book Aid

Many of you have cried "More!" after our announcement in the last newsletter of the newest BookCrossing Partner, Book Aid International. There's lots going on with BAI and much more to come, so here's a bit more to get you all started.

If you are interested in donating books, take a look here, to get an idea of the kinds of books BAI is seeking.
Our very own Netstation has volunteered to be the point person to help coordinate this. If you think you may have a suitable book, send the details (not the book just yet, please!) by PM to Netstation and he will collate a list for the Book Aid folks. Please feel free to send books registered at BC or unregistered books, but be aware that they might not be journaled, as they are going to places where there's no electricity, let alone Internet access. If you are interested in being a possible point person for the gathering of books to send by m-bag or equivalent, also let Netstation know.

BookCrossers can donate through the website managed by Charities Aid
Foundation, by clicking here.
You can donate in Euros, Pounds, or Dollars and they convert currency at the mid market price. And finally, one other way to help out is via the Reverse Book Club.

News from The Netherlands

Recently, the biggest newspaper in the Netherlands, De Telegraaf discovered BookCrossing
thanks to an enthusiastic article in BOEK, a magazine dedicated to books.
The paper decided to write its own piece about it and approached active
bookcrosser Moem, one of the
interviewees in BOEK. Published on Saturday February 19, the article covered half a page (!) and resulted in over 70 new
members, making this one of the bigger, if not THE biggest success in Dutch
BookCrossing history! In the article - featuring the headline "Book as
Message in a Bottle" - stellar wild releaser Moem tells about themed releases,
meetings resulting in friendships among BookCrossers and techniques for
releasing books in bars, on statues and in phone booths.

Back in September of 2003, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer offered an article about BookCrossing. Several BookCrossers were featured in the article, including our very own CPetersky who had just released the Robert Crais novel Hostage at a campground in Idaho, near where the Snake and Salmon rivers meet. A thunderstorm the next day had CPetersky worried about the fate of the book, which remained a mystery until now, one and a half years later. Now a follow-up article lets all of us in on what that book has been up to. Hostage made it not only through the thunderstorm, but all the way to Hawaii! One can only wonder where it'll travel next.

[Editor's note: now if we can just get Mr. Crais, who happens to be one of my favorite authors, to publicly plug BookCrossing.]

BookCrossing Fever in UK Media

Guess what website was the Website of the Day for February 22 on BBC 2? If you guessed BookCrossing, you're spot on! Pop on over to BBC 2 and see what Miles Mendoza had to say about BookCrossing. And while you are there, you can even post a comment. What a brilliant choice for a site of the day! Then there was Kleptokitty'sBBC Radio interview this week, too. Keep your eyes and ears open for the following media mentions:

The Charlie Jordan show on LBC 97.3 London will have live interviews with BCers from 5:30 p.m. this coming Sunday, 27 February (An LBC producer caught the article in Ergo and contacted London BookCrossers. How cool is that?!)

And of course the new BBC TV show Page Turners will be airing soon, which we understand will feature BookCrossing quite heavily.

Don't forget, the cut-off date for hotel reservations is March 15. Click here for more information.

Attention New Zealanders! (and Non-Kiwis, too!)

The 2005 New Zealand Bookcrossing Convention is approaching fast, and there's only one week left to catch the Earlybird Registration Special!

From 25-28 March, Bookcrossers from all over New Zealand (plus a few from Australia and the USA) will be meeting in Christchurch to celebrate all things BookCrossing. There'll be meetups, release frenzies, a mystery bus trip, and even a flashmob, but most of all there'll be the opportunity to meet other BookCrossers, to share experiences, books, and a really fun weekend.

The registration fee for the full weekend is NZ$75 (children $20), but you can also pay for individual events if you don't want to or are unable to come to everything. And if you register before 1 March, you'll only pay the Earlybird Special price of $60.

For more information or for a registration form, PM FutureCat or check the NZ Convention website.

Swiss radio Couleur 3 discovers BookCrossing

On 21 February, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., BookCrossing was the topic of a radio programme, Société Anonyme. Three active bookcrossers, speedy80, choupinou and kamika, were interviewed in the studio. People could phone in or send text messages with comments and questions. It was very positive, and many of the respondents were intrigued. Several callers said they would sign up! One of our Swiss champion wild releasers, oireb, phoned in, as did bragard from France. You can listen to the programme by following the links on this thread in the French forum.
And many thanks to speedy80 who had the brainstorm to contact the radio station to suggest a feature!

In 2004, the BookCrossing Newsletter featured an article on an African book project that the Seattle Academy High School had begun. Each quarter used books are sent to the Munali High School in Lusaka, Zambia. This is a school with very few resources. Even teachers lack textbooks. Several bookcrossing members donated money to help with book shipping as this is a rather expensive proposition. The project also later earned an African Studies Grant providing enough money to ship books for 2 years. ...

ISN'T THAT WHATSHISNAME?A real person appears in a novel
by laurajesson

When I first read Jonathan Coe's The Rotter's Club, I was startled to see that the name of one of the characters was the name of someone I had once met. Not so unusual, of course. Writers inevitably choose names of real people for their characters all the time....

Want to write for BookCrossing? If your article is accepted, you could see it featured here in the next newsletter. What topics do we need? Anything about books, reading, or BookCrossing — tutorials, release and catch stories, well-traveled book stories, funny BookCrossing experience stories — you get the idea. Write it up, then submit it here:

Wild books released by our members are being caught all over the world, every day! Our site watch forum is where members post news of great wild book catches. Here are some of the best from the last few days...

Stuck in a bookcrossing rut? Seeking guidance for your next wild book release safari? Here are some fresh ideas posted by members in our Release Challenges forum to whet your adventure appetite. And if you can think of other timely or unique challenges, post them to the forum and you may see them here in the next newsletter!